My Guacamole
Spices play an important role in Persian cuisine. They bring colours, flavours and aromas to our dishes. So I like to bring a little touch of my Persian background by using two of my favorite spices when I’m making guacamole. Cumin and Sumac.
Sumac might not be familiar to all. It’s made from the dried and ground berries of the wild sumac flower. It’s a tangy spice with a sour, acidic flavour reminiscent of lemon juice. Persian cuisine uses sumac where lemon juice would normally be used, to garnish meat, salads, yogurt. So I like to sprinkle some on top of my guacamole to bring that lemony zing that I like.
Avocados are delicious, but I’m really trying to reduce my consumption. They are not environmentally friendly, their carbon footprint is significant (twice as much as bananas), and each requires 320 litres of water. So I’m trying to be aware of that and eat less of them.
Ingredients
makes a bowl
- 1 ripe avocado
- the juice of 1 lemon
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- a good pinch of Maldon salt
- pinch of ground pepper
to garnish:
- pinch of chili flakes
- pinch of sumac
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Method
Scoop the avocado flesh out of the skin, removing the stone.
Place in a bowl and mash with a fork to create a purée.
Add the juice of a lemon, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir until combined.
Garnish with chili flakes, sumac and olive oil.
Have it as a dip, on toast or with my tofu scramble.
